JAKARTA (foresthints.news) - Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Minister, Dr Siti Nurbaya, demonstrated her commitment to on-the-ground law enforcement by taking firm action against the company PT ABN on 22 June 2016, sealing off its palm oil concession located within the Leuser Ecosystem, which had been operating without the relevant permits, including an environmental permit.

This move was aimed at protecting the habitat of the Sumatran elephant, at least 22 of which are to be found in the concession concerned, according to a rapid assessment conducted by the ministry several days before the area was sealed off.

The video excerpt, shot on location by the foresthints.news team covering the PT ABN palm oil concession's sealing off process, clearly demonstrates how this process was carried out.

According to the Environment and Forestry Ministry, the disbandment of IPOP was caused by two key drivers, namely the failure and inability of the now ex-IPOP signatories to clean up their supply chains from deforestation and peat conversion, as well as their ongoing desire to expand their palm oil plantations in the long term.

The sealing off of this palm oil concession, which is linked to the supply chain of these two ex-IPOP signatories, represents a concrete manifestation of the review process being carried out on existing palm oil concessions operating in the Leuser Ecosystem in the wake of the declaration of the moratorium on palm oil and mining expansion in the Leuser Ecosystem by the Environment and Forestry Minister and Acehnese leaders on 19 April 2016.

The decision to seal off the concession came after a series of events initiated by the findings of spatial and on-the-ground monitoring conducted by the ministry from early June 2016, in which Greenomics Indonesia also participated.

This, in turn, led to the issuance of a circular letter from the Aceh government asking all plantation companies to put an end their land-clearing operations in the Leuser Ecosystem.

“The monitoring of the implementation of the palm oil expansion in the Leuser Ecosystem must be carried out in an effective manner, especially after the issuance of the circular letter. Law enforcement is just one of the instruments that can be used for ensuring the effectiveness of the moratorium,” the minister told foresthints.news at the end of June 2016 while discussing the issue.